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Nintendo’s president Shuntaro Furukawa and Nintendo of America’s president Reggie Fils-Aimé discussed the future of the 3DS this week, both highlighting how it still very much is a key platform for the firm.
In a lengthy interview with Game Informer published yesterday, Fils-Aimé was asked if the 3DS was “still a big focus for Nintendo,” to which he answered: “Absolutely.” The 3DS very much remains the preferred platform for kids, as a gateway to gaming.
Fils-Aimé continued, discussing the weight of the 3DS on the American market: “In the month of December, we had 27 per cent growth versus last year in the U.S. Here in the U.S., through May, it’s up 10 per cent year-on-year. It continues to be a vibrant system. The reasons are, for the target audience we are going after – parents with kids – we see this as a great first device for that five, six, seven, and eight-year-old. The portability, the ability for the hardware to take damage and survive the drop test, over a thousand games available with new ones coming, that’s what’s driving the performance. It becomes a gateway for these kids that turn 10, 11, and 12 to then jump on to Nintendo Switch. It’s a strategy that’s working, and we’re going to continue to support that platform. We have more games coming, and certainly into 2019, we see it as a key part of our business.”
Meanwhile, Furukawa discussed similar topics during Nintendo’s annual general meeting of shareholders last week, as reported by Japanese newspaper Kyoto Shimbun and translated by Nintendo Everything. He said that “though it’s been around much longer, the 3DS has certain advantages over the Switch such as ease of purchase and the like.” He then added that Nintendo is “considering various possibilities” to bring a successor to the 3DS to market, though he didn’t detail which options were considered.
These statements also tally with the launch of three new 2DS XL releasing this summer in Japan, pre-loaded with Minecraft, Animal Crossing: New Leaf – Welcome amiibo and Mario Kart 7 respectively. You can see the pictures below:
